William paiktek



(No Model.)

W. PAINTER.

Marking Plug Tobacco. No. 234,608. Patented Nov. I6,'I880.-

M by M Atimm y ".FETERS. Pnnfoumoeawum. WASHINGTON. u C

UNrrEn STATES Tartar Fries.

WILLIAM PAINTER, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

MARKING PLUG-TOBACCO.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 234,608, dated November 16, 1880.

Application filed July 13, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM PAINTER, of Baltimore city, State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Marking Plug-Tobacco; and I hereby declare the same to be fully, clearly, and exactly described as follows, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a plug of tobacco marked as hereinafter set forth; and Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view, showing the mode of, and apparatus for, marking the plug.

My invention relates to the marking of plugtobacco with designating devices indicating the origin or quality of the tobacco, which marking has heretofore been generally done either by pasting or otherwise attaching labels of various sizes and shapes to the plugs, or by forming on the surface of the tobacco symbols in alto or bas relief.

All of the methods heretofore in use have been objectionable, either from the cost and inconvenience of attaching or forming the designating label or tag, or from the use of paste or other adhesive material used insecuring the same, or from the difficulty of removing the label-or mark when it became necessary to do so.

The desiderata in a mark for plug-tobacco are, mainly, that it shall be striking and conspicuous, conveniently and cheaply attached or made, and, if by reason of its nature it be undesirable or inconvenient that it remain on the plug as the same is bitten or cut up for use, that it be so attached as to be readily removed by the purchaser or consumer.

The method I have devised meets all these requisites; and my invention consists, first, in a plug of tobacco having a line or lines of thread or equivalent material indented in its surface and, second,in the method of marking the plug. by indenting in its surface a line or lines of thread, as hereinafter set forth.

These apparent stitches are rapidly and conveniently formed by means of a wheel, A, having a series of notched teeth, which force the thread B into the surface of the tobacco as the plug is made to pass between the (No model.)

wheel and a roller, 0, placed a sufficient distance below the wheel to admit of the ready insertion of the plug. The bearings of either the wheel or roller are made yielding, to adjust themselves to varying thicknesses of tobacco.

Instead of using imitation-stitching, the cord may be simply laid in a groove cut in the plug, which latter is then subjected to pressure, causing the edges of the groove or cut to close upon and hold the cord, which is still exposed to view throughout its length.

'As stated, however, the imitation-stitching is to be preferred, as it has a unique and striking appearance, is rapidly applied, and it secures the thread or cord so firmly to the plug as to obviate all danger of its becoming accidentally lost or displaced, while being readily removable by the purchaser. In this case the perforations still remain, and are as characteristic as if filled with stitching.

Any number of lines may be used, and they may be either straight, sinuous, or zigzag; but a single straight line is more economical of material, more readily applied, and is sufficiently striking in appearance to fully answer the desired end.

This method of marking tobacco affords fa?- cility for indicating different grades or qualities of the article by the color of the thread or the number or configuration of the linesas, for instance, by curving the lines or by alternating the length of the imitation-stitches, as shown in the drawings, the relative numbers of short and long stitches representing first, second, or third quality, while the thread itself, irrespective of its color, indicates the origin of the article.

This method of marking tobacco has a further advantage over those heretofore used or proposed, in that it is not local, but is co-extensive with the plug, so that an integral and characteristic mark remains on each piece of the plug as it is cut across, and extends throughout its length.

While I have laid stress upon the use of silk thread as the material best adapted for the purpose in view, it is obvious that other material will answer the desired end.

What I claim isof a series of indentations, as set forth, where- 1. As a new article of manufacture, a plug by the appearance of stitching is produced, of tobacco having a line or lines of thread insubstantially as described.

dented in its surface, as set forth. WILLIAM PAINTER.

2. The method herein described of marking Witnesses:

plug-tobacco, consisting in securing upon its R. D. WILLIAMS,

surface one or more lines of thread by means W. A. BERTRAM. 

